Hawaii 2-0
by Drkhntress
Summary: This is how I would have liked the entire Hawaii fiasco to have played out. Fluff and smut and Babe ending that deviates into an alternate present. Reviews are my friends, please and thanks :)
1. Chapter 1

I recently reread Explosive Eighteen and once again found myself very disappointed by the development of what could have been a wonderful turning point for the Babe fans. So here's my version. It'll probably be four or so chapters.

**Disclaimer: **All characters of the Stephanie Plum belong exclusively to Janet Evanovich, and warnings ahead for smut and fluff.

BABE story, because I couldn't possibly write anything else

* * *

You have got to be shitting me. I fly all the way to Hawaii, hoping to escape from work and drama, and yet, because I'm Stephanie Plum, I manage to walk into something I shouldn't.

Not even one hour, let alone one day into my vacation that Morelli was NOT on, I was strolling through the airport terminal when who should I run into but Tootie Ruguzzi, aka the Mrs. to Simon Ruguzzi or The Rug, the man who Vinnie had written off after he went FTA following his being implicated in multiple counts of murder. I followed her and found her husband lounging poolside, living the good life while the rest of us schlepped to work everyday.

In any other circumstance, I'd be thrilled to just inadvertently bump into a skip, but this was going to prove slightly problematic for two reasons; 1- he was staying in a couples only resort retreat type place that despite flashing a more than adequate amount of cleavage and batting my lashes, I could not get into. 2- even if I could get in, I didn't have the authorization to apprehend him in Hawaii, which meant I had to call in someone who did.

Bond enforcement in Trenton is a relatively small business so when I thought about who I could possibly call, there was only one option that sprang to mind- my friend, mentor and sometimes lover Ranger Manoso. The thought of which filled me with ambivalence. On one hand, he would definitely want to help and it would be impossible to fail with him at my side. On the other hand, there's always temptation when mocha skin and Bulgari and Ranger are involved. Not to mention I would probably be indebted to him and Ranger's methods of repayment tend to involve very little clothing and lots of heavy breathing.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I couldn't see many other options at the moment. I bit the bullet and picked up the phone to call him.  
He answered on the first ring, "Babe."

"Ranger."

"Miss me already, Babe?"

More than you know, I thought. But aloud I said, "Actually, I could use some help."

"Help? Isn't Morelli there to tend to your needs?", he quipped. Even I caught the slightly uneven tone in his voice.

"Not that kind of help Ranger. And besides, Morelli and I are broken up. That's why I'm here alone."

He went even more silent than usual, and I took that as my cue to fill in the blanks about The Rug scenario.

When I was done, I could pretty much hear him smiling over the phone. "I'll be there, Babe. Just remember, when I'm playing the doting husband to you, I don't do anything half-way. _Hasta pronto, mi esposa_." And click went the phone.

Because I'm clearly glutton for punishment, I googled his departing line: See you soon, my wife.

Oh my god, Stephanie Plum what have you done?


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! The response has been so much kinder than I was anticipating. Hopefully you like this chapter too. I know it's a slow build, but I promise, more fluff and smut is coming. Enjoy! :)**

Once I hung up the phone I found myself frantically pacing the small hotel room I was staying in. Ranger was on his way. Omg. Probably it would be a good idea to shower and shave and make sure everything that could be touched was in touchable condition. With that I made a mad dash to the bathroom to primp.

An hour and a half-long luxuriating shower later, I was presentable. Now, what to wear. Luckily even knowing I was taking this trip alone, I had packed some of my less boring bikinis and dresses. There was this black one in particular I though would be impressive- from far away it looked like a simple black halter and bikini bottom, but close up you could see the sides had cutouts marked by heart shaped silver rings. It showed just enough to be scandalous. I decided to toss an open weave blue coverup over the bikini. And then I did light, natural looking makeup, after which I took myself down to the hotel pool to catch some sun.

I must have fallen asleep somewhere during the course of my sunbathing because the next thing I knew, I was slowly blinking my eyes open, with a telltale shiver simultaneously running down my spine. Moments later, I saw Ranger round the corner. And I think I swallowed my tongue.

He was not only shirtless, but he had on a pair of black swim trunks that were pretty much glued to his perfect body. Topped with black shades and his killer face, I'm pretty sure there was a puddle of drool rapidly collecting.

When he spotted me, he flashed me that killer smile and leaned over to lay a devastatingly intense kiss on my lips. When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard. He whispered, "hey Babe" and all I could do was sit there breathing. Even that was a task that required more concentration than i was capable of at the moment.

Belated, I greeted him. He surprised the hell out of me by pulling up the chair next to me and stretching out languidly. His stupid ESP went to work, preempting my barrage of questions by saying, "I just got here, about 10 minutes again. When I didn't find you in the room, I just assumed the next place you'd go would be the pool. I guessed right."

As if he was ever wrong about anything. Nevertheless, I was ashamed to admit how much it pleased me to see him.

Apparently he wasn't done talking though- "I had Hal pull up the resort details for the place you mentioned your skip is staying at. It looks like the only way in IS actually to be a couple. So, tonight we're headed there. What do you say Babe, will you be my Mrs. Manoso?"

Gulp. Despite all my fears about marriage and the fact that I knew this was just pretend, I couldn't help the funny feeling that suddenly made its way to my stomach. All I know is that when I croaked out a yes, It felt real.

He got to his feet and held his hand down to me, and as I stood I realized we really did look like a couple, especially given our matching outfits and after my sun nap, our closer complexions.

As we made our way up to the room we chatted about things back home in Trenton- Rangeman in particular. He told me the guys were all jealous that he got to come to a place that equated to paradise while they stayed in muggy Trenton. He told me he'd stopped by the bonds office and the girls looked good. And lastly, he mentioned that he'd seen a sullen overworked Morelli slipping out of Pino's looking a little worse for wear.

All this chit chat was so out of character for Ranger that I found myself expecting to wake up from a dream. In any case, we were just walking into the hotel room when Ranger's phone rang and he answered with his customary greeting, "Yo."

Ever the man of few words, he spoke a total of probably five words then hung up, informing me that that was Lester saying he had ran some algorithm and found that every night this week the Ruguzzis had a charge at a restaurant called Aficionado. Sounded to me like our favorite couple had developed a soft spot for a particular dinner joint.

Ranger told me he thought we could do recon tonight and then plan for a capture tomorrow or the day after since it didn't seem like a The Rug was going anywhere in a hurry. Apparently Lester was setting up a reservation for us there tonight at 8:30. Which gave me exactly 2 hours to get ready.

I rushed to the closet up examine the clothing I had brought with me, pretty certain that nothing would be acceptable attire for this fancy sounding restaurant but instead found myself pleasantly surprised by the explosion of colors I found.

"Ranger, this is too much."

"Steph, believe it or not, it's all Ella's doing. She thought we might need to blend into different settings and just wanted you to be prepared."

I sighed inwardly as I ran my hand over the delicate knits and silky dresses, all in my size. As I stood there perusing the options, I felt Ranger behind me. He surprised me by reaching around to pull a deep red off the shoulder dress out, saying only, "This one."

I took it from him and went about the room setting out the essentials for getting ready while he slipped into the shower. In the closet closest to the door, found a pair of matching blood red heels with gold accents. It was perfect. As usual.

When Ranger made his way back to the bedroom a little later, I was so lost in my own thoughts I didn't even register his presence until he cleared his throat. "It's all yours Babe."

We switched places and I took care of business. Since I had already done most of the grooming this morning, I focused on taming my hair and makeup. An hour later, I emerged semi-victorious with my hair falling in carefully curled tendrils and my makeup icy gray but not circus-scary.

Ranger had his back turned but I could see he had pulled on a dark charcoal gray suit, and even from this angle he looked amazing.

I walked around to the mirror to add finishing touches to my outfit for the evening and almost gasped when he appeared alongside me. Now, I'm not a vain person, but I have to admit, we looked amazing together. He had pulled his hair back and put his single diamond stud in again. The white shirt of the suit created a sharp contrast to the hue of his skin and his tie matched my dress.

"You look amazing Babe, but I have one little adjustment to make."

I'm sure there was a quizzical look on my face, but he reached down and took my left hand in his right before he slid an enormous teardrop diamond ring with matching band on my ring finger, all the while never breaking eye contact in the mirror.

"You're now Mrs. Stephanie Manoso, Babe."

Holy crap. There go those butterflies again. I spun around to look him directly In the eyes and caught a glimpse of his own left hand, strikingly empty. He followed my gaze and pulled a matching band out of his other pocket. Because I have no idea what came over me, all I remember is taking the ring out of his hand and sliding it onto his finger. I swore I saw something flash through his eyes but in an instant it was gone and he was moving his head towards me for a kiss.

"Thanks" I heard someone say, distantly realizing it was me and not sure whether I was thanking him for the ring or the kiss or something all together different.

"No price Babe," he reminded me.

I shakily managed a laugh before we pulled apart and I slipped on my heels. I glanced up and found him staring at me intently but he shook himself out of it and gathered my purse from across the room.

"Take what you need from here Babe, we won't be coming back. I'm having everything moved to the resort while we're at dinner." Moments later, he was whisking me out of the room and off to an evening that was sure to continue surprising me if the past few hours were any indication.


End file.
